When we think of Klout, we think of the social media scoring analytic tool. However, what many people do not know about Klout is that it is great for networking. Or perhaps many people are aware of that fact, however that is not what they usually associate Klout with.

I have to say that a large percentage of my tribe was from Klout. Sure, I would say the majority were from different networking groups as well as from Empire Avenue, however a big chunk of my connections did indeed come from Klout.

There is a very easy way of finding connections on Klout. One way to do it is to look into your Klout account, on the top right hand side you will see a box next to the “Settings” area, and click on it to see who has given you +K.

Once you have found that someone has given you +K (Klout’s endorsement for a topic you are influential in), click on his or her name and you will be given the option to Tweet or Facebook share the fact that the individual has given you +K. You can do that if you would like however what you need to do is find his or her username in the Tweet option, cut it without the @ sign- and paste it into the Klout search and then you will find the person’s Klout page.

When you land on that person’s page, be sure to return the +K, however take a look at the bottom left, to see who else has given them +K- and take a look at their bottom right and see who the 6 people are displayed. Go through all of the individuals you see and who you feel you can connect with. If you have enough +K’s left, send some of them +Ks and they will likely return it to you. That is how the connection is started. You will not have enough +Ks quite likely in order to send to everyone who you see. However be sure to save their Klout addresses so you can send it off when you are replenished. It may take a while to do as you are given only so many +Ks, and not to mention it is best practice to return any +K that anyone sends you since that is a form of acknowledgement and appreciation. ?Not to mention that is how you can start connecting with people. However some days you will receive less +Ks from people than others, and ?if you have excess +K’s, take advantage of that opportunity to send it out to your potential new connections.

Be sure to always rinse and repeat. Take a look at different Klout pages of other users to see who their connections are. Many times the 6 people displayed on their pages are the top 6 people based on score from that individual’s Klout list. If those people are from their chosen list (sometimes there is no list and the people displayed are randomly displayed), take a look to see if there is a name of a list above the displayed area.

If there is a name of a list such as the one you see, the example being “Elite List”, be sure to click on it and you will see who is in the user’s list. There will likely be a lot of Klout users there, depending on how many people that particular person added to his or her list. Go through the list (not only based on score, keep in mind some with lower scores could also be excellent potential connections) and see who you feel you could connect with. If you have spare +K’s, hand them out to your new potential connections that you find through Klout. Don’t just send them the +K once, it is best to exchange it 4 or 5 times before any kind of connection is created. For those who do not at all return +Ks may indicate that either they are not interested in pursuing a relationship or any kind or may not pay attention to their Klout page. If you have not received +K back from those people, you can just cross their names off since they are not being receptive.

However, most of the time, people will reciprocate. What will inevitably happen is, they will connect with you on Facebook, Twitter and other networks and any relationship built will likely go to the next level.

To find out more about how you can build relationships with Klout through even other methods, you are welcome to take my free course.